I knew exactly when I became pregnant. I had been having issues with my birth control pill and was trying to find an alternative form of birth control that worked better for me. My boyfriend and I only had unprotected sex once and I took Plan B within a few hours of the sex. However, when I woke up the next morning I felt odd and knew I was pregnant.

I was in my early twenties working my way through college and living on my own with no help from friends or family. Some times I could barely afford to eat decent meals. My boyfriend unfortunately had been unemployed for some time because of a serious injury.

My boyfriend right away suggested an abortion. At first I didn’t want to consider it because I grew up with a mother very against abortions. My boyfriend reasoned that we were broke and couldn’t take care of a child in our situation. It occurred to me that it was unlikely to bring a healthy child into the world with my poor diet and stressful life situation. My boyfriend and I drove many hours to another state as there were no clinics that preformed abortions in my area of the state I lived in. I had to stand in a metal hallway that reminded me a lot more of a penitentiary then a medical clinic and state who I am and get my face on camera before they could let me through a locked steel door to the abortion clinic. While all the workers who helped me were kind to me during the abortion process, I couldn’t help but feel dehumanized. The clinic was so busy: they rushed me from room to room much like an assembly line. They asked me many questions about my reasons for wanting an abortion and gave me many pamphlets. My boyfriend wasn’t allowed in with me for any of process to comfort me.

After the abortion, I was fearful that my parents would find out about my abortion if I used their insurance to help pay. I wasn’t even sure if the insurance would cover any of it, so I paid it completely out of pocket. I cried the whole way home. It was certainly the worst day of my life, but since then I have made a life for myself. I got my Bachelors degree and a great career. My overall health is much better. My boyfriend now has a job that pays quite well and we are in a much better place then we were years ago. If I wouldn’t have gotten the abortion, neither my boyfriend nor I would be where we are now and our lives, as well as our children’s lives, would be quite bleak. There would be so many missed opportunities for a better quality of life. While the abortion was difficult to get through at the time, waiting to have children is the best choice my boyfriend and I made.